PR Power List Cannabis Honor Roll of 2019. Julia Cherruault/ for Observer
There are thousands of PR firms in New York City, but there are only 50 slots on our annual PR Power List. To salute even more of the great work we’ve seen this year, here’s our honor roll of the most influential firms in the cannabis industry. Agencies on previous honor rolls have graduated to the PR Power 50, so watch this space.
Lobbyists, activists, brand managers, nonprofit veterans, marketers and digital media experts are all part of Evan Nison’s arsenal; like that guy in the commercials who bought Gillette, Nison’s also launched cannabis brand Whoopi & Maya and founded Emerald Farm Tours, a California-based “cannabis tour company.”
Since launching Maverick less than a year ago, former Rosen Group SVP Shawna Seldon McGregor’s racked up an impressive roster of cannabis clients, including Wana, Wana Wellness, Elixinol, Quicksilver Scientific, Mary Jane’s Medicinals, Resource Innovation Intuition, Fortis Law Partners and Cannabis Doing Good.
Wise distinguishes itself with 360-degree work for clients like Shryne Group, including its premium cannabis brands STIIIZY, efex and Honeyleaf, Minis, People’s OC, TheBluntness.com and Hemptown USA; that means the agency works across paid, earned, owned and social channels—and handles crisis and marcom too.
Even before the cannabis boom, Autumn Communications plugged away at promoting brands like Papa & Barkley, Kiva Confections, Edie Parker Flower and Miss Grass. Led by co-founders Shelley Reinstein and Ashley Carone, this year the agency also stepped outside the media box by hosting immersive experiences within the red-hot category to introduce consumers to various facets of the biz, from topicals to ingestibles.
Bevel Group, Cannabis One, Green Check, Namaste Technologies and the State of Cannabis conference round out RLM’s presence in the category; for 2019, the firm’s focused on consumer safety, end-of-prohibition forecasting and fundraising.